Bottled drink vending machine



May 30, 1961 c. L. BARNHART BOTTLED DRINK VENDING MACHINE Filed March 11, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 CARLTON L. BARNHART INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY May 30, 1961 c. L. BARNHART BOTTLED DRINK VENDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 11, 1958 T n m m m L N m R INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY BY #Aa/ United States Patent 2,986,304 BOTTLED DRINK MACHINE I Carlton L. Barnhart, 2928 W. Lancaster, Fort Worth, Tex.

Filed 11, 1958, Ser. No. 720,695

4 Claims. (Cl. 221--125) This invention relates to vending machines and has reference to a coin operated machine capable of dispensing a variety of bottled beverages from a single refrigerated cabinet.

An object of the invention is to provide a simplified vending machine of economical construction, efiicient opera-tion, and one which requires a minimum of maintenance. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottled drink vending machine wherein all bottles of a variety of drinks are movably projected for customers convenience when making a selection and when withdrawing a bottle from the machine.

A particular object is to provide a bottled drink vending machine dispensing a variety of drinks, yet one having fewer and simpler operations to be performed by the customer.

A further object is to provide a vending machine ca? pable of handling a variety of bottle sizes, yet one which does not require the adjustment of shelves when changing from one bottle size to another.

These and other objects will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing, wherein: p

Figure l is a rear elevation of a bottle dispensing panel having an arrangement of slidable gates and latches comprising a primary feature of the invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the gates and latches removed from the panel.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the bottle dispensing panel, on a reduced scale as compared to Figure 1, and

showing the same mounted in the opening of an access 7 tion of the pusher bar for moving the bottles outwardly into the restricting openings in the gates, and the location of the hinged bottle dividers.

Figure 6 is a top plan view of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Figure 6, but eliminating the cabinet.

Figure '8 is a view similar to Figure 5, but showing. a modified form of the invention for accommodating short bottles.

Figure 9 is a broken front elevation of a refrigerating cabinet showing a vertical door behind which the bottle dispensing panel of Figure 3 is located.

The form of the invention shown includes a refrigerating cabinet 10 of generally conventional construction having inner and outer walls 11 and 12 and insulation 13 therebetween. As viewed in Figure 9, the cabinet 10 has a narrow, vertical hinged door in the left side of the cabinet and, as viewed in Figure 6, there is a removable vertical partition or wall 15 inwardly of 'but spaced from said door. The partition 15 is mountedin and supported by a vertical wall 16 having locator stops 17 for positioning the partition during maintenance operation. The partition 15 is larger than the door access opening 18.

The partition 15 has a vertical row of circular openings 19 large enough to accommodate the diameter of the largest size standard beverage bottle 20. As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, there is a vertical row of gates 21, for coaction with the circular openings 19. The gates 21 are mounted for vertical sliding operation by means of flanged guides 22 at the sides of the gates and which guides are secured to the rear surface of the partition 15. The gates 21 are supported by a transverse lower stop 23 beneath the lowermost gate, and which stop is also secured to the rear surface of the partition 15. The up ward movement of the gates 21 is limited by a transverse upper stop 24 which is secured to the rear surface of the partition 15 by means of screws 25. Springs 26 may be provided in notches 27 in the lower edge of the upper stop 24. for contacting the upper edge of the upper gate 21 and normally urging all gates downwardly. By rea-' son of gravity, the springs 26 may be eliminated if there is free sliding action of the gates 21.

A feature of the invention is directed to generally arcuate restricting notches or openings 28, one in the lower edge of each gate 21, which openings are large enough to accommodate the necks of the bottles 20; thus, the taper of the bottle neck has a cam like action on its associated gate, raising the latter when a bottle is withdrawn. When all gates 21 are down, the distance between the upper edge of the upper gate 21 and the lower edge of the upper stop 24 is such that only one bottle 20 may be withdrawn through a partition opening 19. During the withdrawal of any one bottle 20, all gates above that bottle are automatically locked adjacent each other in a raised position by reason of latches 29 pivotally mounted on the rear surface of the partition 15; similarly, the latches 29 below the bottle being withdrawn lock all gates 21 therebeneath in a down position. As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the flanged guides 22 are spaced to accommodate the latches 29. Each latch 29 is generally arcuate and is pivoted, as at 30, intermediate its ends, and which latches are alternately staggered along opposite sides of the gates and positioned for coaction with the upper and lower edges of adjacent gates. The upper end 31 of each latch 29 is in the form of an acute angle for coaction with a correspondingly shaped notch 32 in the lower side edge of the gate 21 thereabove; similarly, the lower end 33 of each latch 29 is in the form of an obtuse angle for coaction in either an upper 35 or lower 36 correspondingly shaped notch in the upper side edge of the gate 21. The last described notches 35 and 36 are in the side of the gates 21 opposite the first described notches 32. It will be noted that the uppermost gate 21 does not have obtuse notches 35 and 36, and that the A lower gate 21 does not have an acute notch 32. As

shown in Figure 1, the lower ends 33 of the latches 29 engage the lower obtuse notches 36 in the gates 21 above the bottle 20 being withdrawn and that the inner upper edges of the latches contact adjacent corners at the upper and lower edges of the gates so as to look all gates above said bottle and thereby prevent separation in the event of attempted pil-fering. The gates 21 beneath. the bottle 20 being dispensed are locked down by the action of'the latch 29 adjacent thereto and indicated at A in Figure 1. The acute or upper end 31 of the last referred to latch is in contact with the lower corner of the lowermost raised gate 21 and thus positions the obtuse or lower end 33 of the latch in engagement with the upper obtuse notch 35 in the gate therebeneath, thereby locking that gate and all vother gates therebelow in their down positions. After the removal of a bottle 20, the gates .thereabove 21 drop downwardly; at the same time the cam action of the obtuse angle notches 36 cause the acute angle upper ends 31 of the latches 29 to engage the acute angle notches 32. Thus, all gates are reposithe vertical row of bottle dispensing openings 19 in the vertical partition 15.

The door 14 may be opened at any time, but a bottle 20 may not be dispensed until a coin has been placed in the coin receiving unit, generally designated by the numeral 37, which actuates a solenoid operated bolt 38. As shown in Figure 1, the bolt 38 is arranged to engage a notch 39 inthe upper gate 21.

As shown in Figures and 7, the bottles 20 'to be dispensed are supported on inclined tracks 40 and roll downwardly so that the lowermost bottle contacts a vertical partition stop 41 and positions said bottle opposite a dispensing opening 19 in the vertical partition 15. The tracks 40 are suitably supported within the cabinet by means of suitable brackets, such as 42. The bottles 20 are aligned on the tracks 40 by means of a vertical spacer 43 secured to the rear inner wall 11 of the cabinet 10.

Each time the door 14 is opened, the necks of all bottles 20 are projected into the restricting gate openings 28 and the circular openings 19 in the vertical partition by means of a hinged pull bar 44 disposed rearwardly of the vertical row of bottles as shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. The pull bar 44 is mounted on the extending ends of upper and lower arms 45, the remaining ends of which are pivotally connected with a rear side wall 11 of the cabinet 10. Tension springs 46 connect the arms 45 with the rear cabinet wall 11 for normally maintaining the pull bar 44 in a retracted position. Cables 47, connected with the door 14 and passing through openings 48 in guides 22 also connect with the pull bar arms 45, and thus the springs 46 normally maintain the door in its closed position.

Only one bottle may be dispensed at a time by reason of unique hinged dividers 49 which coaet with the gates 21 when the latter are raised. Each hinged divider 49 is comprised of a pair of depending arms 50 and 51 pivotally connected at their lower ends with the ends of a horizontal divider bar 52. The depending arms 50 and 51 are pivotally supported on brackets 53 connected with inner surfaces of the cabinet 10. The arms 51 adjacent the gates 21 have extensions 54 beyond their pivot points for coaction with lugs 55 on, and with recesses 56 in, the rear surfaces of the gates 21 as shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5. When the gates 21 are in their down position the extending ends of the arm extensions 54 are received in the recesses 56, but when the gates are raised, the lugs 55 engage the arm extensions 54 causing the horizontal divider bars 52 to move downwardly. Since the gate 21 corresponding with the bottle 20 being removed is moved upwardly, the corresponding divider bar 52 moves downwardly and prevents the next bottle on the track 40 from rolling into dispensing position. However, when the gates 21 return to their down positions the horizontal bars are raised, thus allowing the dispensed bottle 20 to be replaced. Springs, not shown, may be employed for normally raising the divider bars 52, and other suitable connections may be made for coacting with the arm extensions 54 with the gates 21; for example, slotted pivoted connections, not shown.

The modified form of the invention shown in Figure 8 is directed to adapters 57 pivotally connected with the pull bar 44 above each track 40. Each adapter 57 is comprised of a short bar pivotally attached at one end to the pull bar 44 and is in frictional contact therewith. Thus, if short bottles 20a are to be dispensed the adapters 57 are horizontally extended so as to provide suflicient movement for moving the necks of the bottles into the circular openings 19 in the vertical partition 15. t

In operation, a coin is placed in the coin unit 37, thus releasing the locked upper gate 21, and consequently all other gates. Opening the door 14 assures the location of the necks of the bottles 20 in the circular openings 19 of the vertical partition 15 by reason of the action of the pull bar 44. The customer withdraws the selected bottle 20 during which operation all bottles are locked against withdrawal for reasons described in the foregoing. Simultaneously, the next bottle 20 in line with the withdrawn bottle is prevented from entering into dispensing position by reason of the action of the adjacent hinged divider 49.

The invention is not limited to the construction herein shown and described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bottled beverage vending machine, a vertical wall having a vertical row of bottle dispensing openings therein, a plurality of gates positioned one upon another in a vertical row, means slidably mounting said gates to at least partially cover said bottle dispensing openings, each said gate having a notched opening in the center of the lower edge thereof of a size adapted to receive the forward end of the neck of a bottle to be dispensed, latch means locking the gates below a bottle as the latter is being dispensed, means limiting the upward movement of said gates above the bottle being dispensed and whereby the upper edges of the last said gates effectively blockcorresponding said openings, said latch means comprising latches pivotally mounted intermediate their ends on said wall, said latches being generally arcuate and having their ends directed toward said gates, and having their pivots substantially within the same horizontal plane as the top of each gate when the latter is in its down position, the sides of said gates having notches therein positioned to alternately receive said ends of said latches, and means locking the uppermost said gate.

2. In a bottled beverage vending machine as defined in claim 1, the construction including a vertical forwardly movable pull bar at the base of the bottles to be dispensed and whereby the forward neck ends of the bottles will be positioned in said openings in said gates when said bar is moved forwardly, an outwardly hinged cabinet door opposite the bottle dispensing openings in said vertical wall and means connecting said door with said pull bar actuating the latter in the described direction.

3. In a bottled beverage vending machine as defined in claim 1, the construction including inclined bottle supporting tracks, the lower ends of which tracks terminate near and below said dispensing openings, the lengths of said tracks being inclined toward said openings, dividers hingedly mounted in said machine over said tracks at the sides of said openings, and means operatively connecting said hinged dividers with said gates.

4. In a bottled beverage vending machine, a vertical wall having a vertical row of bottle dispensing openings therein, vertical guides along opposite sides of said wall, gates positioned on one another in a vertical row and slidably mounted in said guides, each said gate having a notch in the lower edge thereof of a size adapted to receive the forward end of the neck of the bottle to be dispensed, a locking bolt carried by said vending machine adapted to engage the uppermost said gate, and latch means locking the gates above and below the bottle as the latter is being dispensed, said latch means comprising arcuate latches pivoted intermediate their ends adjacent said wall and intermediate adjacent said gates, notches in vertical sides of said gates and the ends of said latches being positioned to engage corresponding said notches in adjacent gates. t

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,049,383 Frick July 28, 1936 2,311,449 Lilly Feb. 16, 1943 2,446,807 Blair et a1 Aug. 10, 1948 2,727,654 Childers et a1. Dec. 22, 1955 2,766,906 Bookout Oct. 16, 1956 2,819,815 Stumbaugh Ian. 14, 1958 

